The entry fee of the Veermata Jijabhai Bhosale Udyan, popularly known as the Byculla Zoo, has been hiked ten fold from the existing Rs 5 to Rs 50 from tomorrow, a senior official said.
The decision to hike the entry fee has been taken with a view to mop up additional revenue which will be utilised for the maintenance of the Byculla zoo, including the penguin enclosure.
"According to the new rates, entry fee for adults and children (three to 12 years) will be Rs 50 and Rs 25 respectively from tomorrow. A family of four will be charged Rs 100, while the additional member will be charged as per the regular ticket price," zoo director Sanjay Tripathi told PTI.
To charge revised fees, we will be issuing electronic ticketing system from tomorrow, he said.
Earlier, in the beginning of the July, the general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), had approved the proposal to hike the entry fee for per person (above age 12) from existing Rs 5 to Rs 50.
Besides, a fee of Rs 100 was been fixed to permit entry of four members of a family. Entry fee for children (up to the age of three) is Rs 25.
The move to hike the existing fee was mooted after a large number of visitors started thronging the BMC-run zoo, to catch a glimpse of the eight Humboldt penguins, that were procured from Seoul, South Korea, last year in July.
The exhibit of the penguins was open for public from March onwards, and it became an uphill task for the zoo authorities to manage the crowd.
Earlier, the BMC had proposed to hike the fee up to Rs 100 per person, which was opposed by all the parties and various resident associations.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)